Sides at odds over imposing discipline

Updated 7:03 am, Thursday, November 20, 2014

The NFL players union wants the league and its owners to take disciplining players out of the hands of commissioner Roger Goodell.

Already at odds over the process used to punish Ray Rice, the dispute heightened Tuesday when the league suspended Vikings running back Adrian Peterson for the rest of the season for using a wooden switch to discipline his 4-year-old son.

The central issue remains the same for both sides: Finding a way to fairly hold players accountable for transgressions that damage the credibility and image of the league and its players. The union wants disciplinary power now held by Goodell to be handled by a neutral arbitrator. The league, so far, doesn't agree.

And while both the league and the NFL Players Association want to change the personal conduct policy, the sides disagree on how to do it. The union wants to bargain for changes to the policy, while the NFL wants to implement changes with union input the same way it changes rules on the field.

Browns: Josh Gordon is practicing for the first time since his 10-game suspension ended. Gordon worked out with his teammates Wednesday and is expected to play Sunday in Atlanta. Gordon had a one-year ban for violating the NFL's drug policy reduced to 10 games in September.

Cardinals: Larry Fitzgerald did not practice Wednesday and coach Bruce Arians said the receiver is "iffy" for Sunday's game at Seattle. Fitzgerald has been diagnosed with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee.

Redskins: Coach Jay Gruden says he made a mistake when he publicly criticized Robert Griffin III's "fundamental flaws." He also said it was his fault that the Redskins have become more about Griffin than about the team.

Seahawks: The league has fined Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch $50,000 for violating its media policy. Lynch has only spoken to reporters postgame after Seattle's Week 9 victory over Oakland and did not talk the past two weeks after games against the Giants and Kansas City.

Vikings: Running back Ben Tate, claimed off waivers from Cleveland, was signed.